Getting the picture

lit-lorn-strait

Dear Geist,
I’ve written a book for young children and I hope to illustrate it as well. But I hear through the grapevine that it might compromise my submission to send illustrations to a publisher along with the written manuscript. True?
—Cheng M, Toronto
Dear Cheng,
Probably not. Most children’s publishers prefer to engage professional illustrators with whom they have a working relationship, mainly because of the complex needs of picture books: age of intended readers; competing books in the marketplace; international rights potential; appeal to parents, teachers, librarians and other grownups (the people who buy these books); and so on. But a publisher who is keen on your story is more likely to negotiate these matters with you than to reject your proposal.
—The Editors